10 December Tussles Worth Watching

Fighters are always given advice by their corners in the dying
seconds of every round: finish strong. MMA fans can expect a strong
finish in the final month of 2010.

From the Strikeforce show on Saturday to
UFC 124 in Montreal on Dec. 11 and the traditionally
star-studded Japanese New Year’s Eve events, fight sport fanciers
are in for a treat this December. In addition, the regional
circuits will feature plenty of exciting matchups. From Brazil to
Russia, from Costa Rica to Northern Ireland, it appears as though
promotions around the world have saved their best for last.

Below follows this month’s rundown of hidden gems.

As always, the list does not focus on the well-promoted main
event bouts you already know to watch, but rather on fights from
all over the planet that are worth seeing. The
UFC, Strikeforce,
Dream
and Sengoku Raiden
Championship are excluded by design.

In this month’s featured women’s fight, Nagano -- the 2009 Rough
Stone junior flyweight grand prix winner and famous amateur
stripper -- takes on Ham, a hard-hitting Korean, in a classic
striker-versus-grappler encounter. Nagano, a former amateur
wrestling champion, has feuded with Norway’s Celine Haga in
2010, splitting a pair of bouts with the Joachim
Hansen protégé. Ham, dubbed “Hamderlei Silva” because of her
reckless stand-up style, has an undefeated professional kickboxing
record and holds a win over former Deep champion Hisae
Watanabe.

Originally scheduled for Nov. 13, the postponement of this event
due to Tropical Storm Tomas means Curran will fight twice in nine
days. First, he takes on Bodog Fight veteran David Love under
the Xtreme Fighting Organization banner on Dec. 4 in Lakemoor, Ill.
Then, the former WEC featherweight title contender will depart for
the eastern shores of the Dominican Republic to square off with
Marx, a Jeremy Horn
protégé, at “MMA Global Invasion.”

The marquee matchup on the first Cage Wars show of 2010 pits the
pride of Norwegian MMA, Thoresen, against Valancius, a once-beaten
Lithuanian. “The Grin” is patiently waiting for his shot at the
major leagues. The 26-year-old training partner of Joachim
Hansen has lost just once in his young career -- a close
decision defeat at the hands of Japanese veteran Eiji Ishikawa
in 2008. However, Valancius, a well-rounded Titanas fighter, does
not plan on becoming a stepping stone for Thoresen. His only defeat
came to Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Igor
Araujo.

Two of the best heavyweights in the Sunshine State go to war in the
co-headliner of the latest offering from Xtreme Fighting
Championships, the regional powerhouse promotion based in Florida.
“Beast Boy” Barnett is as agile as they come for someone with a
5-foot-9, 260-pound frame. The 24-year-old fan favorite will face
the toughest task of his young career, as he takes on American Top
Team’s Rinaldi. “Big Hurt” is a 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club
Submission Wrestling World Championships quarter-finalist and holds
a recent win over former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco
Rodriguez.

Making the second defense of his middleweight King of Pancrase
crown, Kondo will make his 66th appearance for the promotion to
which he has remained faithful since making his debut in January
1996. If there ever was a lifetime achievement award for loyalty,
Pancrase should bestow it upon Kondo. On Dec. 5, he squares off
against Fujii, a man nine years his junior, in a rematch of their
September bout under the Cage Force banner. There, Fujii beat Kondo
on points. This time, he draws the champion in a ring, with a title
on the line.

Costa Rica’s own Rodriguez has become a bit of a celebrity in South
American MMA circles during the past 18 months. The 32-year-old
knockout artist first won an eight-man, single-night tournament in
June 2009 and then scored a major upset over former Chute Boxe
Academy jiu-jitsu coach and Pride Fighting Championships veteran
Cristiano
Marcello at Bitetti Combat 7 in May. Wasting no time, domestic
promotion Xtreme Vale Todo has pitted “Mandarina” against Shawn
Tompkins-trained UFC veteran John Gunderson for his stiffest
test to date.

A year of fighting on the M-1 Challenge circuit will culminate in
three title fights on Dec. 10. In the welterweight division,
Western Europe champion Lloveras, of Spain, takes on Eastern Europe
tournament winner Zavurov, of Russia. Lloveras is a purple belt
under well-regarded Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor Rafael Haubert
and has prepared with Daniel Tabera
and the rest of the S.H.O.O.T Spain team in Valencia for this
challenge. Zavurov will enjoy home-field advantage and has never
been finished in his seven-year MMA career.

Teixeira suffers from the same affliction as his countrymen,
Bruno
Carvalho and Vitor Vianna.
He has legitimate skills but little name recognition. As a result,
he finds it hard to secure opponents. Teixeira remains best known
as Chuck
Liddell’s jiu-jitsu coach and the first man to knock out
Rameau
Thierry Sokoudjou. At Bitetti Combat’s last offering, Tabera
had to fill in for Dutchman Hans
Stringer on a week’s notice. He recently reached the final of
KSW’s light heavyweight tournament in Poland.

The heartbreaking plea for financial support flyweight king da
Silva started this summer should be fresh in the minds of everyone
who follows the career of the young Brazilian standout.
California-based promotion Tachi
Palace Fights has answered the call and signed “Formiga” to a
four-fight contract. The former Shooto South American champion will
be welcomed in his United States debut by Martinez, a WEC veteran.
The Arizonan will drop down not one but two weight classes to try
to hand da Silva his first defeat.

Contact Tim Leidecker at www.facebook.com/Rossonero1 or follow
him on twitter @Rossonero1.